Highlights include appearances by sculptor Charles Ray; photographers Chris Killip and Jane and Louise Sealander; photographer and documentarian Jamel Shabazz; journalist and The Wire creator David Simon; and costume designer Ruth E. Carter.
All events are free. Parking at the Getty Center is $15 and is reduced to $10 after 3pm. Don’t forget to take advantage of “Pay Once, Park Twice,” same-day parking at both the Getty Center and Getty Villa for one $15 fee.
Below is a sampling of spring events at the Getty Center.
Spring 2017 Talk Schedule
Bouchardon and Charles Ray: Sculptors Past and Present
Wednesday, March 22, 2017, 7pm
Sculptor Charles Ray, whose Boy with Frog stands in front of the Getty Museum, joins the Getty’s curators of sculpture, Anne-Lise Desmas, and drawings, Stephanie Schrader, to discuss 18th-century sculptor and draftsman Edmé Bouchardon, and how his endeavors continue to resonate with artists today.
Does Art Capture Reality Better than the News?
Wednesday, March 29, 2017, 7pm
As American social problems have become more complex and harder to understand, artists have stepped in, using their skills to capture the tragedies of the drug war, prisons, and economic dislocation. Photographer and documentarian Jamel Shabazz and The Wire creator and journalist David Simon, both recipients of MacArthur fellowships for their portrayals of life in post-industrial American cities, discuss how artists can best offer unflinching views of real life. Presented with Zócalo Public Square.
The Learned Draftsman: Edmé Bouchardon
Saturday, April 1, 2017, 5pm
The celebrated French artist Edmé Bouchardon (1698–1762) is primarily known as a sculptor today, but as Edouard Kopp, co-curator of Bouchardon: Royal Artist of the Enlightenment explains, he was enthusiastically regarded by his contemporaries as a draftsman as well.
Giulio Romano’s Holy Family: The Renaissance Devotional Image as Poetic Prayer
Wednesday, April 5, 2017, 7pm
As a religious image, Giulio Romano’s Holy Family was intended to concentrate the viewer’s attention in the process of prayer, but the elegant and poetically expressive treatment of the subject also aimed to elicit admiration for its specifically artistic quality. Robert Williams, professor of art history at UC Santa Barbara, explains how these two sources of value—often considered incompatible, if not mutually contradictory—reconciled in the Renaissance viewer’s mind.
Artist Presentation: Jane and Louise Wilson
Thursday, April 20, 2017, 7pm
Working collaboratively, twin sisters Jane and Louise Wilson create powerful, compelling photographs, videos, and installations that explore the intersection of troubling historical events, architectural spaces, and the natural environment. Their Sealander series, now on view, presents images of abandoned World War II bunkers along the Normandy coastline of northern France. The artists, based in London, discuss their work.
Antique and Pseudo-Antique in Carolingian Manuscripts
Thursday, May 4, 2017, 7pm
In the ninth-century Carolingian Empire, scribes and artists played a leading role in the preservation and interpretation of ancient culture. Lawrence Ness, professor of art history at the University of Delaware, explains how the creators of Carolingian manuscripts utilized and adapted older sources, but also created new works in an antique manner.
Venice vs. Rome: A Capital Contest
Saturday, May 13, 2017, 3pm
Pitting gilded gondolas against sumptuous coaches, Venice and Rome sought to surpass each other in staging the 18th-century’s most spectacular festivals and celebrations. Peter Björn Kerber, curator of the exhibition Eyewitness Views: Making History in 18th-Century Europe, explores the pictures Canaletto, Panini, and other leading painters produced to record these dazzling occasions.
The Visual Sources of Costume Design
Wednesday, May 17, 2017, 7pm
Costume designer Ruth E. Carter, who has worked with directors Spike Lee, Ava DuVernay, and Stephen Spielberg on such films as Malcolm X, Selma, and Amistad, discusses her use of photographs and other visual source material to inform and inspire her celebrated designs.
A Subjective History [Conversation]
Wednesday, May 24, 2017, 7pm
Chris Killip, professor of visual and environmental studies at Harvard University, speaks about his career as a photographer with filmmaker Michael Almereyda. This program complements the exhibition Now Then: Chris Killip and the Making of In Flagrante.
Larry Wolff on Decoding the Eighteenth Century
Saturday, May 27, 2017, 5pm
Distinguished professor Larry Wolff of New York University returns to the Getty to discuss how historians utilize paintings, such as those in the exhibition Eyewitness Views: Making History in Eighteenth-Century Europe, and other artistic sources to enhance their understanding of 18th-century public events and ceremonies.
Summer 2017 Talks
Look for programs this summer with renowned photographer Sebastião Salgado, a panel discussion exploring the urban wildlife around the Getty, and a discussion of the color blue featuring Saturday Night Live alum Garrett Morris.